Opinoins on good laptop

[Manarius]

Originally Posted by Cynic

Can't be said enough...MAC MAC MAC

We have had Mac's since 1984, right now we have a Mac Mini, a Mac Pro, and 3 MacBooks (one is really old...). Ready to go out of the box. Great support...had a problem with one, they fixed it in a week and sent a nice set of speakers to me as an apology.

Get a Mac if you can.

Originally Posted by Jeremy'sSVX

Mac. Mac. Mac.

Once you try a mac theres really no going back.

Everything about a mac is perfect. Everything is so easy to use, it NEVER freezes. I've had my macbook for over 2 years and its frozen once and that was because i tried to open all of my programs at once just to see how it would handle it. If a program crashes (which is rarely does) you start it right back up within 15 seconds.

Yes their a bit pricey but if you would find a laptop with the same specs as a macbook it would be just as much anyway.

There is no virus even made for a mac. So no need to waste your money on norton or any viruse protection.

Customer support is all located in america. So if you need to talk to someone you can actually understand them.

Myth: No software is compatible with a mac?
You can get ANY software for windows on a mac. Example: Microsoft office. Either an equivilant mac version or you can even run windows on the mac. I had this for awhile and my windows got a virus so i uninstalled it. Problem solved.

I would never go back ever.

Jeremy

I guess both of you are rich. Us normal college students can't afford $2000 macs. You pay a lot of money for overpriced equipment that is not upgradeable and has severe compatibility issues outside of Office and internet browsers.

I'd take a copy of XP SP3 Pro over Mac every day. I can upgrade any piece of hardware anytime I feel like it and be guaranteed that my files will work with 90% of the machines in today's world. Not to mention, I can do all that for 300 bucks with a EEE PC.

[sabin]

Originally Posted by Manarius

I guess both of you are rich. Us normal college students can't afford $2000 macs. You pay a lot of money for overpriced equipment that is not upgradeable and has severe compatibility issues outside of Office and internet browsers.

I'd take a copy of XP SP3 Pro over Mac every day. I can upgrade any piece of hardware anytime I feel like it and be guaranteed that my files will work with 90% of the machines in today's world. Not to mention, I can do all that for 300 bucks with a EEE PC.

first the macbook is $1000.
a macbook pro is just as upgradeable as any other laptop ie ram and hd
there are no severe compatibility issues. sorry i use both, my files work all the time
the only major software that is unavailable for osx is access and auto cad
as for your files working 100% have you ever tried to open a office 2003 file in office 2007 on windows. try it and let me know how compatible it is

so you can upgrade any piece of hardware on a eee pc even the video card
amazing. too bad is slower than my 4 year old powerbook, that i paid $350 for last year


just so you all know i work as a system admin in a windows only environment. at home have both a home built gaming computer running xp and a g4 powerbook running 10.5. i use both os's on a daily basis and osx is leaps and bounds more stable

[Jeremy'sSVX]

Originally Posted by sabin

first the macbook is $1000.
a macbook pro is just as upgradeable as any other laptop ie ram and hd
there are no severe compatibility issues. sorry i use both, my files work all the time
the only major software that is unavailable for osx is access and auto cad
as for your files working 100% have you ever tried to open a office 2003 file in office 2007 on windows. try it and let me know how compatible it is

so you can upgrade any piece of hardware on a eee pc even the video card
amazing. too bad is slower than my 4 year old powerbook, that i paid $350 for last year


just so you all know i work as a system admin in a windows only environment. at home have both a home built gaming computer running xp and a g4 powerbook running 10.5. i use both os's on a daily basis and osx is leaps and bounds more stable

Amen sabin!

Mac's arent over priced if you think about it. All the programs mac includes for free, idvd, imovie, iphoto, front row, etc. Oh and you dont have to waste money on tech support when your computer crashes and you dont have to waste $100 on an antivirus program.

No need.

[1986nate]

Originally Posted by Jeremy'sSVX

you dont have to waste $100 on an antivirus program.

No need.

Using a PC you don't really need antivirus unless your going into porno sites and other "unsafe" sites. I haven't had antivirus on any of my computers in the last 6 years and have had no problems.

[Tim]

We can go all day debating mac vs. pc.

They both run very similar hardware nowadays so the only real difference is hte operating system and the programs. Viruses will eventually come out for a mac, it's just a matter of time; so it's kind of a false sense of security to go by that notion.

Resale value is another major advantage when going for a Mac. The prices for used apple components still remain high even after being a year old. Try doing that with a PC.

But in any case the original post by Seth was asking for a budget under the $500 mark. This excludes Mac anyway. For that kind of budget, you can definitely get a PC with a dual core processor, minimum of 2 gb of ram and over a 100gb hardr drive. Most come with Vista unless you get one from a small business division such as Dell Small Business or IBM direct. Those can package out with Windows XP.

[SilverSpear]

Originally Posted by Jeremy'sSVX

you dont have to waste $100 on an antivirus program.

$100... pay me $20 and I will give you the latest Kaspersky with one full year key for it and upgrade it each year for free

[Matthewmongan]

I use the new Uni-body Macbook for most of my needs. we also have a white plastic macbook, a dell xps1330, dell inspiron 1600 something, hp jornada 720 and a dell mini nine. on the desktop side, an amd system, a macpro and a mac mini. The inspiron blew a power regulator on the mobo after the wife dropped it, and now it can not be charged. however, before the spill it was a good machine. the mini 9 is solid, quiet and light, but it is small. i have used Hp's and acers with good results but the build quality on the acer was sub par. if you don't want a mac dell is hot right now.

the cost differential for macs only applies when you have apple upgrade the parts for you. they charge out the arse. other than that they are in keeping with other high end computers.

Before anyone flames me about going to newegg and making a macpro system themselves, find me a dual socket xeon mobo (with 4 pci express 16 slots) that doesn't suck. really, do it. last i looked there was one and it sucked. which is unfortunate.

that being said you are going to have to switch to vista unless you buy a netbook with xp home or have a copy of xp to install. we use vista at the office and it's not my favorite OS, but here's hoping for windows 7. you might be able to get xp through a business license but i have not tried.

a macbook with vmware fusion running both windows and OS X is a great machine, but dell makes a great laptop and the quality control has improved quite a bit. there was a huge difference in build quality between the inspiron of yore and the XPS 13. honestly the mini 9 is the strongest small form laptop i have used since the HP jornada.

if i were you, i would wait for the dual core atoms come out and hop on it. the mini 12 is also good but the battery life is poohful and the screen is not led.

make sure to reinstall the os and drivers to remove the bloat-ware they put on. also Clamwin is a great FREE antivirus program and Foxit reader is a great pdf reader that does not slow the system like adobe. I had a teacher that would send out these ridiculous pdf files that would choke up adobe like a hog. then i found foxit reader and it is so much faster. use firefox for web, thunderbird for mail, and sunbird for calender. you can try open office to save some change on MS office but if you need just word processing Abiword is good. i really haven't found a good alternative to itunes since winamp got crappy. this sucks because itunes is a memory hog.

make sure you head on over to newegg and max your ram. its easy and fun.

[Matthewmongan]

Originally Posted by Manarius

I'd take a copy of XP SP3 Pro over Mac every day. I can upgrade any piece of hardware anytime I feel like it and be guaranteed that my files will work with 90% of the machines in today's world. Not to mention, I can do all that for 300 bucks with a EEE PC.

the EEE PC is not very upgradeable. hackable yes, but other than ram and eventually flash you are out of luck. really those are the only two things you can upgrade on any laptop.

now im all about the eee and dell mini but you got to know what your getting into. its not fast by any means. firefox is slow. you NEED 2 gigs of ram and the hp mini note has an odd track pad with flanking buttons, WTF! of the half a dozen or so netbooks i like the dell the best. I would have said lenovo s9 but it is as hot as an e-z bake oven in a fat kid's bedroom. odd because the dell stays cool without a fan and has the same chipset and cpu. if you like linux buy the ubunto version it will be quicker, but if your a n00b to the tux stick with XP. keep in mind that you can always try linux, but if you buy the linux version and hate it your sol. windows 7 is optimized for the low power machines so maybe we will see some support. XP is not the best os for the atom but it is what it is and as a secondary machine it's great. you know, the net book would be a great candidate for the return of the venerated "nipple, clit, or tit-mouse" pointing stick from the thinkpads. those were the bomb diggity. Man, i remember my first trak pad. i was like WTF i hate this! i still do, and it prevented me from getting a laptop for a long time. i hear some company somewhere makes keyboards with the red joy button, IBM style.

keep in mind i used a jornada 720 as a primary laptop for 3 years so i can touch type on anything. well not the Zaurus, but im working on it.

And, yes the macbook air is the best netbook of them all HHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHA HAHAHA !!!133tHAHA HAHAHTWOFINGERSCROLLINGFTW!!!!!!

[Matthewmongan]

Never mind, I noticed you purchased an Acer.

[Hondasucks]

Originally Posted by Jeremy'sSVX

Amen sabin!
and you dont have to waste $100 on an antivirus program.

No need.

I use Avast! it's free for personal use, or if you want the "pro" version it's like $25 and includes lifetime upgrades. www.avast.com it's auto-updating, and will scan in the background when the computer is idle, etc. Eats up a lot less resources than Norton that's for sure.

[Matthewmongan]

Originally Posted by Hondasucks

I use Avast! it's free for personal use, or if you want the "pro" version it's like $25 and includes lifetime upgrades. www.avast.com it's auto-updating, and will scan in the background when the computer is idle, etc. Eats up a lot less resources than Norton that's for sure.

ill have to try that. also, seaquest was the bomb.

[LetItSnow]

A good way to go for all sorts of quality freeware is found by hitting Google with Best 46.

[redlightningsvx]

I've always used AVG and ad-aware free versions from download.com and run them once a week or when the computer feels a little slow. They work great. Also the laptop is holding up nicely. It's still fast enough for me and got Vista working to the point where I don't want to smash it.

[Wikedjuggalo]

Originally Posted by SilverSpear

$100... pay me $20 and I will give you the latest Kaspersky with one full year key for it and upgrade it each year for free

Yeah screw that when you can get it for free by doing a simple search. But its illegal like 90% of human actions

[Hondasucks]

Originally Posted by Matthewmongan

ill have to try that. also, seaquest was the bomb.

Yes, that it was! I have all three seasons courtesy of BitTorrent :P You are the first person to comment on my avatar and I've had it for like, 4 years! (Outside of a "What does your avatar mean?" thread on the USMB.)